DIY & Paper Craft

DIY Photo Booth Props

I have a DIY tutorial this week to share with you all! So get out your phones (or cameras, whatever those are!) and strike your best selfie pose because today I’m going to show you how to make these lovely photo booth props!

If you have an upcoming party, wedding, or special occasion you can create the perfect custom Photo booth props quickly and easily with the Silhouette Cameo.

This project was super special to me as it was a handcrafted gift for my friend Julie’s wedding in Portland. She pretty much let me run free with the design of the props, and my Silhouette Cameo was essential for creating and cutting the shapes. Below is the breakdown of how I created them.

Materials:

Silhouette Cameo

Silhouette brand chipboard

Wooden dowels (any preferred diameter)

Glue Stick

Krylon Colormaster spray paint in Watermelon Gloss

White adhesive vinyl

Rust-Oleum 2x Paint and Primer spray paint in White Semi-gloss

Plastic sandwich bags

Silhouette brand printable gold foil

Fisker’s paper trimmer

Hot glue gun

Book tape/clear packing tape

$1 Chalkboard props from Michael’s

Step ONE: Cut the Chipboard

This was by far the most difficult part of the project- only because there are unlimited possibilities when it comes to what shapes you can use. These were for personal use and not for sale, so I simply Googled “photo booth props” or “photo booth silhouettes” and found some relevant shapes to use. (Including the hipster beard and glasses- Portland, after all.) I then copied the images into the Silhouette software, traced the images and sized them accordingly.

I cut the Silhouette brand chipboard without the mat using the “load media” feature on the machine. I used the blade settings suggested by the software and I nested as many shapes as possible on a single piece of chipboard. The Silhouette chipboard is actually rather thin, so I cut two of each shape.

STEP TWO: Assemble, Paint, & Vinyl

Next, I glued the chipboard shape layers together using a standard glue stick so the pieces were more sturdy. Then I used the Krylon Watermelon spray paint to paint the back and front of each piece. I ended up spraying two coats on each side. I also designed some simple vinyl pieces using the Silhouette software to dress up the hats and the bow. I also cut out the bride and groom’s names and wedding date out of white vinyl to add to the chalkboard props I picked up from Michael’s for a dollar a piece.

STEP THree: Sticks and Finishing Touches

The final step was to paint, decorate, and add the sticks onto each prop. The chalkboard props I purchased from Michael’s already had sticks attached, but I knew that I wanted to paint them. To quickly and easily mask them for spray painting it occurred to me that I could simply place each one in a plastic bag and poke the stick through to paint it. I can easily see using this method again if I get the chance to make more props. I cut the wood dowels I purchased into 12″ and 16″ lengths and spray painted them with Rust-Oleum 2x in Semi-gloss white.

Once dry, I decided to embellish them with gold. I used Silhouette brand printable gold foiland cut it using a paper trimmer into several 1/4″ strips. Because they are adhesive, it was easy to wrap around each dowel in various ways. The ends of the foil did want to pop up, so I used book tape (or clear packing tape) to wrap around the endpoints. Finally, used a hot glue gun to attach the props to the decorated dowels!

Drumroll Please… The Finisehd Props!

I had so much fun making these props for Julie’s vintage woodland wedding soirée- and I am so looking forward to crafting something like this again! If you are crunched for time, craft and stationary stores sell pre-made paper prop kits that need just a bit of assembly. But if you are looking to create something specific to your event and style, I hope this tutorial shows you just how simple it can be!

Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear about your party crafts so leave me a comment and let me know what you think! Don’t forget to follow me on Pinterest and check out my Party Pinterest board to see the craft and decor ideas that inspire me.